Upgrades from 1A - single cruiser?

[jpmaximus]

If everyone seems to be upgraded from a cat. 1A to a better cabin, who ultimately gets stuck in the 1A cabin? Does it depend on the timing of the reservation?[/quote

 

 

Carnival keeps 1A's available so last minute bookers who want cheap fares can get onboard.

[jpg1747]

I picked my cabin (Triumph 2445) because it's exactly what I want - a cheap single on a lower deck with a window. I don't particularly want an upgrade (it would depend on what and where) and I would be inclined to refuse it and try and negotiate either a price break and/or an OBC instead.

[SATXLady]

I'm thinking an upgrade is looking good -- yesterday I noticed that 1A-Guarantee was no longer available on this cruise (with only a single 1A cabin shown as available) and now it appears that 1A is not available at all. I'm hoping that means that there is a really good chance that I'll get an upgrade.

 

Edit: Crud -- just checked my booking and rather than TBA, it now shows me as an assigned cabin -- that same one that was the only one available yesterday. I think as far as 1As on the Ecstasy, it looks like a fairly good location to me. But it's still 77 days until sailing so I'll keep monitoring. I suspect this will be a completely full cruise anyway since it's over the labor day weekend. But it will be great -- it's my first cruise and getting away from home and work is always great!

[racyguy14619]

Not from the Upgrade Fairy, but I called AAA last night to pay for the rest of my cruise and my TA was able to upgrade me from a 1A to an OV for $35 ! A balcony was going to be another $500 or so, so that was out of the question.

[firefly333]

I called Costco, but they wouldnt even book 1As. You have to pay for at least a 4A but they have nice discounts, so it depends on the cruise and the ship, but if you want a 1A you are out of luck. I could save $60 on my Conquest sailing by giving up my 1A they said. I decided even to save $60 I was not going to give up my special 1A.

[jpmaximus]

You are in good shape. usually if the 1a's fill up early Carnival will start moving people into 4A's. They like to have 1a's available for last minute people who want to book cheap. Keep checking on Carnival's website under Your booking information where it says stateroom details. You will see a picture of your cabin. One day you will click on it and see a 4A picture!

[bragstarr]

I sure hope most of this is true. Hubby and I booked a 1A guarantee yesterday on Imagination for January, with the hopes we'd get upgraded out of there. If not, we'll deal with it just fine. I guess it's too soon to see any sort of cabin assignment; I'll just have to wait!

 

Robin

[Thirsty Cruiser]

Does anyone ever get upgraded from 1A and what's the best upgrade anyone's received? I'm thinking that single cruisers may be lowest priority for upgrades but wanted to check.

 

I just booked a 1A guarantee on the Ecstasy for a cruise over labor day. It will be my first cruise but it will be fairly cheap ($594 for single) and I can drive to Galveston. Thought maybe I better try it out before my cruise scheduled for next March and find out if I enjoy cruising or not. (But I realize that the March cruise will be a totally different experience since I'm booking an 8A as a single and travelling with a large group.)

I was just upgraded from 1a to 4a for my August 7th cruise. Still an inside but no bunks. I have never been upgraded from an inside to an outside, but depending on how crowded the ship is, ya never know.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

How early do ya'll book, and receive upgrades? I am a first time cruiser and i will be on the Carnival Fantasy 9/17/07 for my 10 year anniversary! We booked OV GTY, any chance of me getting upgraded? We also have 2 other couples that are coming with us and our bookings are linked, we all booked the same type of room. Any advice/tips would be of great help to us!!!!!

 

TIA

 

My sister booked OV GTY in April and was upgraded to balcony for our August cruise.

I generally book when I see a rate I like. It has ranged from a year out to 2 weeks out. I think that you have a better chance of upgrades the further you book in advance, since they usually want to make space available in the lower-priced rooms to sell more rooms.

[Sea Turtle]

I'm a solo cruiser with CCL. I always book category 1A guarantee. Past assignments:

 

Glory - 1A to 4E - booked within 3 days of sailing

Spirit - 1A to 4C - booked within 2 weeks of sailing

Spirit - 1A to 4D - booked within 3 weeks of sailing

Imagination - 1A got 1A - booked within 5 days of sailing

Spirit - 1A to 5A - booked within 2 weeks of sailing

Spirit - 1A to 4C - booked within 4 weeks of sailing

Victory - 1A got 1A - booked within 10 days of sailing

 

Recap: 5 out of 7 1A guarantee bookings led to upgrades. I really don't care where I end up otherwise I wouldn't continue to book guarantee status. In fact my category 1A cabin #2201 on Victory was one of my favorites!

 

As others have stated it's just the luck of the draw on what you get. Good luck! :)

[SATXLady]

I'm fine with the 1A -- but I'd be even finer with an upgrade.;)

 

Actually, it's still 2 and a half months away. I'm kind of surprised to see a cabin listed so early so it's quite possible it will change a time or two before sailing. I'm just a little less optimistic after seeing that they are no longer offering 1As at all.

[zaandam_2]

i went from a 1a gty to a 4e.

[Peachiest]

Does anyone ever get upgraded from 1A and what's the best upgrade anyone's received? I'm thinking that single cruisers may be lowest priority for upgrades but wanted to check.

 

I just booked a 1A guarantee on the Ecstasy for a cruise over labor day. It will be my first cruise but it will be fairly cheap ($594 for single) and I can drive to Galveston. Thought maybe I better try it out before my cruise scheduled for next March and find out if I enjoy cruising or not. (But I realize that the March cruise will be a totally different experience since I'm booking an 8A as a single and travelling with a large group.)

 

I traveled as a single with a large group and stayed in a 1A with a porthole on the conquest. I booked the porthole room on the Conquest. I thought it was just fine and plenty of room for one person. Have a wonderful time!

[SATXLady]

Actually, after starting this thread, I found out my mother would really like to go so I just upgraded to a 6A for about the same per person price as I would have paid for a 1A. I didn't get a guarantee because my Mom is worried about motion sickness so I got a specified cabin on the Rivera deck as close to mid ship as possible. Guess I'll have to schedule another cruise to find out about 1A upgrades later.

[firefly333]

Dont feel bad, we have the same problem that usually there is a specific room we book. We had a 5A the first time and next time have a window. We could go cheaper if we went with a free upgrade to a 4E but decided to pay the extra to see out and be near our friend.

 

We have tentatively booked guarantees for jan 08 and Jan 09 and then I will finally see how my luck runs. A lot depends on the ship. I really want a 5A on those spirit? ships, the ones with the french door that opens. Id book that directly too.

[kabuka]

No rhyme or reason to Carnival's upgrade system. First time cruisers sometimes receive great upgrades while us old regular cruisers receive nothing.

 

In the past, our group booking 1A's have usually stayed in that category with no upgrades.

That is my experience. This is my 3rd Carnival cruise, leaving Sunday (and 8th cruise all together), and we were not upgraded as the Carnival rep. basically guaranteed would happen. When I called to complain, I was told too bad! We also didn't get ship-board credits when the price went down. When I asked to change to a different location on the ship (same category room) I was told we had to pay a fee to change locations. Long story short, I don't have much faith that Carnival cares about repeat customers.

 

You are safe if you don't expect anything, that way you can be pleasantly surprised if you are blessed with any upgrade.

[BARBARA J.W.]

HELLOOO........

I am a SOLO CRUISER...........

On the VICTORY-2001,I boooked a 1-A

was upgraded to a BALCONY.................WOW nice.....

1-A cabins are fine for me.........

On the FANTASY in SEPT-2006,booked 1-A got a ocean view........

Last year on the HOLIDAY I had COTTON's cabin-M-6.............

Nice and the steward was very sweet,,,,,,,,,,OLIVER............

I like the inside cabins better,,,,,,I like to take a nap durning the

day,,,,,,,,And I like for my cabin to be dark...............

Going on the CELEBRATION for CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR's EVE

staying on the upper deck................

Picked my cabin,,,,,,,,beacuse I have stayed in it before...........

And I am hoping for the same cabin stewardress.........KERRAN............

HAPPY CRUISING AND UPGRADES.............

[Thirsty Cruiser]

That is my experience. We also didn't get ship-board credits when the price went down.

 

I thought it was pretty much "official" policy to give you credits if the price goes down. I have always gotten these in the past, although they will tell you this is a one-time thing. If it goes down again you will not get additional credits.

 

You are safe if you don't expect anything, that way you can be pleasantly surprised if you are blessed with any upgrade.

 

I agree. Carnival has no obligation to upgrade anyone. I also do not think they give particular preference to past guests, since this is my sister's first cruise and she got an upgrade to balcony from OS guaranteed. (I have never gotten such an upgrade)

[kathy32259]

Going on the CELEBRATION for CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR's EVE

staying on the upper deck................

Picked my cabin,,,,,,,,beacuse I have stayed in it before...........

And I am hoping for the same cabin stewardress.........KERRAN............

HAPPY CRUISING AND UPGRADES.............

 

Hey Barbara - I was looking at the NYE cruise on the Celebration and the one right after. Maybe I'll see you - will let you know if I book it.

 

I too like to pick my 1A cabin - usually one with a porthole - and want to stay put unless they choose to upgrade me to an OV or better. My PVP really watches out for me. I for one don't like the darkness of an inside - and prefer a balcony on the larger ships. JMHO.

[BARBARA J.W.]

Hey Barbara - I was looking at the NYE cruise on the Celebration and the one right after. Maybe I'll see you - will let you know if I book it.

 

I too like to pick my 1A cabin - usually one with a porthole - and want to stay put unless they choose to upgrade me to an OV or better. My PVP really watches out for me. I for one don't like the darkness of an inside - and prefer a balcony on the larger ships. JMHO.

 

HELLO KATHY,,,,,,,,

I too was going to do the NYE and the week after,,,,,,,,,,,,

I am SPLURGING...............

The cruise will be my Birthday,,,Christmas,,,,Valentine's.........

I hope to see you on the CELEBRATION.......

U-6 on the CELEBRATION has a port hole.........

That was the cabin I was going to stay in...........

But there was another cabin on the upper was available both weeks,,,

And I have stayed in that cabin before............

Please let me know if you are going.........

Be nice to meet you............

[luckycruzer]

How early do ya'll book, and receive upgrades? I am a first time cruiser and i will be on the Carnival Fantasy 9/17/07 for my 10 year anniversary! We booked OV GTY, any chance of me getting upgraded? We also have 2 other couples that are coming with us and our bookings are linked, we all booked the same type of room. Any advice/tips would be of great help to us!!!!!

 

TIA

 

Tho your aqua colour is pretty, it is hard for me old eyes to focus on there is not enuff contrast. My best b2b upgrade last year was g't 1a to a 6A..king w/ the big picture window..I got to watch the water. Not a big deal to me as I live on the Florida coast,,I have 11 cruises booked at g't..so we'll see what happens..lucky

[racyguy14619]

My $35 upgrade didn't happen, but I'm not surprised. Apparently Carnival's rep accidentally quoted the p/p rate, and when they realized it, they hung up on my TA. I learned the next day that my TA stayed 2 hours late at work trying to get Carnival to honor the rate quote with no success. Kudos for AAA's efforts, rasberries for Carnival's booboo. I haven't lost anything -- just didn't gain anything. I still have 110 days to go -- we'll see if Carnival offers an upgrade or my TA finds a deal :rolleyes:

[Name game]

I thought I booked a 1A guarantee for my upcoming cruise. Turns out it was cheaper for me to book the 4E (although I downgraded to a 4D) at a cheaper rate so that's what my TA booked for me. My chances of being upgraded to a higher category is nil at this point. It's ok because I am going with a group and we all have cabins near each other. A friend of mine got upgraded from a 1A gty to an oversized balcony last year. The lesson here is always make sure you know what you are booking as I thought I was booking the guarantee. At least this way the price went down once and I got credited :p.

 

P.S. Sorry for rambling, I hope this all made sense.

[southbayer]

I booked a very last min cruise one time, because they showed they had lots of rooms avail, and the price was lowered alot. So I booked a Riviera Deck, and got upgraded to Main Deck, which was no big deal except that it was a few floors up, same type of room.

Does anyone ever get upgraded from 1A and what's the best upgrade anyone's received? I'm thinking that single cruisers may be lowest priority for upgrades but wanted to check.

 

I just booked a 1A guarantee on the Ecstasy for a cruise over labor day. It will be my first cruise but it will be fairly cheap ($594 for single) and I can drive to Galveston. Thought maybe I better try it out before my cruise scheduled for next March and find out if I enjoy cruising or not. (But I realize that the March cruise will be a totally different experience since I'm booking an 8A as a single and travelling with a large group.)

[crusinpsychRN]

My kids are now both in college so I may be cruising solo. Could someone explain what the 4a, b, c, d, e cabins are and if they are all inside?